“We have a continued need for health care workers,” Aguirre said. “There’s a need for technicians in all different specialties. You name the branch and there’s a need for people with two-year technical degrees.”

According to the Employment Situation Summary, which was released Friday, jobs in health care increased by 12,000 during July.

Aguirre said along with technicians, hospitals are always in need of nurses and doctors.

“We do have a shortage of doctors in all areas,” he said, “but we have a lot of turnover for nurses because nursing is a difficult profession.”

According to the summary, the nationwide unemployment rate increased from 8.2 percent in June to 8.3 percent in July.

The number of long-term unemployed, which includes those who have been jobless for 27 weeks or longer, also remained relatively unchanged at 5.2 million.

Aguirre said the Lubbock unemployment numbers generally do not change from June to July except for in the school sector because employees aren’t working and don’t get paid during the summer months.

“Lubbock has not really seen changes in the last year because it’s very well insulated to some of the ups and downs nationally,” Aguirre said. “What we see is basically cyclical based on school years and weather conditions.”

The Texas Workforce Commission will release the state and local unemployment rates Aug. 17.